Equalizer clamp assembly, system and method

ABSTRACT

A multi-directional, equalizer clamp device is disclosed that provides, via a single action, a way to lock multiple objects that may be disposed in different numerous directions. The clamp may also achieve clamping using numerous force factors, and may be configured to attach and secure objects, such as pins, to the side rail of a support and/or operating table via a single-point of operation. The clamp device comprises upper and lower body portions which are configured to clamp to a side rail along a primary clamping direction, and are further configured to receive objects and clamp them along a secondary clamping direction. The clamp device further comprises a control assembly, such as a knob, to facilitate and achieve simultaneous clamping along both primary and secondary clamping directions at a single point of control.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/073,334, filed Oct. 17, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/916,674, filed Oct. 17, 2019, of whichthe disclosures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirely.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a clamp assembly and, moreparticularly, to a clamp apparatus, system and method for a singleaction locking multiple components in different force factors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional clamps are known that can clamp multiple objects to asingle clamp body using individual forcing means in order to secure eachobject to the clamp body. For example, the clamp body may have openingsto insert objects (e.g. rods, bars, standing seams, or the like) in onedirection (e.g. x-plane) and other openings to insert similar objectsdisposed in in another direction (e.g. y-plane). For each of theopening(s) in the x-plane a forcing means is used to apply force to theclamp body such as, for example, a knob, handle, or other tighteningdevice to urge the parts of the clamp body to tighten and/or loosenaround the object. The additional components for each forcing means addcomplexity and cost to the manufacturing of the clamp assembly. It wouldbe advantageous to reduce the number of components in the clamp assemblyas well as to use a single forcing means to operate the clamp formultiple objects, e.g. using a single knob or handle.

Numerous applications in various industries would benefit from such aclamp assembly. For example, a clamp assembly application to attachobjects to the side rail of a surgical support can improve access to thepatient for the surgeon. A clamp assembly for surgical proceduresfurther requires sterilization and improved sterilization can beaccomplished with a clamp body having open channels that may be clearedby standard sterilization techniques.

Applications also exist in attaching a clamp assembly to various objectsand/or structures. For example, a single action fastener that clampsmultiple objects can be used advantageously in connection with a clampassembly for the standing seam of the metal roof, thereby reducing thetime of the installer on the roof and/or structure, use of availablespace, costs of manufacturing, and improving the aesthetic appearance ofthese objects installed on the structure.

Consequently, there is a need for a clamp apparatus, system and methodusing a fastener and/or forcing means having a single action for lockingmultiple objects disposed in different numerous directions that achievesclamping using numerous force factors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a bottom, perspective view of a clamp apparatus,system, and method for a single action clamp for locking multipleobjects disposed in different directions that achieves clamping using afastener and/or forcing means having numerous force factors;

FIG. 2 illustrates an expanded, perspective view of the clamp of FIG. 1of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom, perspective view of an upper portion of thebody of the clamp of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a lower portion of the body ofthe clamp of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an perspective view of clamp in the environment ofattaching a surgical positioner using elongated posts and/or pins to aside rail of a support table, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom, perspective view of another embodiment of aclamp of the invention;

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are expanded, perspective views illustrating anarrangement of the component parts of the clamp of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a top, perspective view of upper portion of the bodyof the clamp using raised attachment lugs, according to an additionalembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a bottom, perspective view of a lower portion of thebody of the clamp of the invention; and

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are expanded, perspective views illustrating alower portion of the body of the clamp.

It is to be appreciated by one of skill that the clamping can bearranged on the side rail of the support table in either direction. Theinvention is described using an upper portion and a lower portion forthe body parts of the clamp, which is merely for convenience ofillustration and should not be deemed limiting to the invention in anyway.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals represent like elements throughout. While theinvention has been described in detail with respect to the preferredembodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that upon reading andunderstanding of the foregoing, certain variations to the preferredembodiments will become apparent, which variations are nonethelesswithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or as morethan one. The term “plurality”, as used herein, is defined as two or asmore than two. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as atleast a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”, as usedherein, are defined as comprising (ie., open language). The term“coupled”, as used herein, is defined as connected, although notnecessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Reference throughout this document to “some embodiments”, “oneembodiment”, “certain embodiments”, and “an embodiment” or similar termsmeans that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments without limitation.

The term “or” as used herein is to be interpreted as an inclusive ormeaning any one or any combination. Therefore, “A, B or C” means any ofthe following: “A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C”. Anexception to this definition will occur only when a combination ofelements, functions, steps or acts are in some way inherently mutuallyexclusive.

The drawings featured in the figures are provided for the purposes ofillustrating some embodiments of the present invention, and are not tobe considered as limitation thereto. Term “means” preceding a presentparticiple of an operation indicates a desired function for which thereis one or more embodiments, i.e., one or more methods, devices, orapparatuses for achieving the desired function and that one skilled inthe art could select from these or their equivalent in view of thedisclosure herein and use of the term “means” is not intended to belimiting.

Referring to FIGS. 1-10, a clamp apparatus, system and method for asingle action locking multiple components in different force factors isgenerally shown as element 100. Referring to FIGS. 1-2, 6, and 7A-7C,the clamp 100 has four component parts: a clamp assembly 110, a fastenerassembly 150, a washer assembly 160, and a control assembly 170.Referring to FIGS. 7A-7C, according to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the fastener assembly 150 may be additionally formed in twoparts. As shown in FIG. 5, the clamp 100 is illustrated in theenvironment of attaching to a patient support or operating room (OR)table 101 using the side rail 102 for attaching a patient support system103 to a surface 107 using elongated posts and/or pins 104. The clamp100 can be arranged on the side rail 102 of the support table 101 ineither direction, up or down, switching the designation of the bodycomponents of upper portion and a lower portion, which is merely forconvenience of illustration and should not be deemed limiting to theinvention in any way. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art,the clamp apparatus, system and method 100 may find further used forother applications to clamp other items and things including mounting toa structure such as a metal roof, wall, building or rooftop, shingledroof, and other structures.

The clamp assembly 110 comprises an upper body portion 111 configured tooperatively connect to a lower body portion 130. The fastener assembly150 comprises a T-bar 151 with a threaded portion 152 configured to bedisposed in openings of the upper body portion 111 and lower bodyportion 130 so as to join using forces applied by a washer assembly 160and control assembly 170. Referring specifically to FIGS. 3, 8, and 9,the upper body portion 111 of the clamp assembly 110 comprises the topportion 112, a bottom portion 113, a front portion 114, a back portion115 portion and side portion 116 that is designated as individual sides116 a and 116 b.

The upper body portion 111 further comprises one or more openings 117designated as openings 117 a and 117 b that can be formed between thetop portion 112 and the bottom portion 113 extending therethrough. Theopenings 117 a and 117 b are configured to receive one or more posts 104for attaching a patient positioner 103 to the side rail 102 of thesupport table 101 according to an embodiment of the invention. The upperbody portion 111 also comprises one or more slot openings 118 designatedas slot openings 118 a and 118 b. The slot openings 118 a and 118 b areconfigured to receive one or more posts 104 for attaching a patientpositioner 103 to the side rail 102 of the support table 101 accordingto an embodiment of the invention. The clamp assembly 110 can beassembled such that the slot openings 118 a and 118 b can be locatedadjacent the slot recess 138 designated as slot recesses 138 a and 138 bto accomplish single action locking multiple components in differentforce factors.

The upper body portion 111 comprises a back portion 115 that can beconfigured with a side rail arm 119 that can further have a side railregister 126 and a side rail lip 127 so as to couple the clamp 100 tothe side rail 102. The upper body portion 111 also comprises a channelportion 120 having a slot segment 121 and shoulder segment 122 adaptedto be operably connected to and received by a key protrusion 140 andcorresponding slot segment 141 and shoulder segment 142 that may beformed in the lower portion 130 of the clamp body assembly 110.Referring to FIG.6, in an alternative embodiment, top portion 112 of theupper body portion 111 may further comprise protrusions 128, designatedas 128 a and 128 b, which may further have protrusion openings 117,designated as 117 a and 117 b, disposed therethrough to provide spacing,further structural support, strength, and integrity to the clamp 100.

The upper body portion 111 comprises one or more fastener openings 123in the channel portion 120. The one or more fastener openings 123 can beformed in the top portion 112 and/or the front portion 114, and extendthrough to the back portion 115, so as to receive the fastener assembly150 therein. Similarly, the lower portion 130 comprises one or morefastener head openings 137, such that operably connecting the channelportion 120 and the key protrusion 140 disposes the one or more fasteneropenings 123 and the one or more fastener head openings 137 in alignedrelationship, such that the fastener assembly 150 may extend through thefastener opening 123, located in transverse slot 124, and extend from anarcuate, conical, or bowl-shaped recess 125. Furthermore, the washerassembly 160 may then be disposed on the threaded portion 152 of theT-bar 151 of the fastener assembly 150 extending therethrough, such thatthe control assembly 170 may be secured thereto, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2,5, 6, 7A-7C, 8, 9, and 10A-10C.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7A-7C, and 10A-10C, the lower portion130 comprises a top portion 131, a bottom portion 132, a front portion133, a back portion 134, and side portion 135 that is designated asindividual sides 135 a and 135 b. The top portion 131 and front portion133 comprise a key protrusion 140 extending therefrom. The keyprotrusion 140 comprises a slot segment 141 and a shoulder segment 142.The lower portion 130 of the clamp body assembly has a side arm 136extending from the bottom portion 132 that may have a similar railregister 126 and side rail lip 127 for ease of registering on the siderail 102 of a support table 101. In one embodiment, the lower portion130 further comprises one or more slot recess 138, designated asindividual slot recess 138 a and 138 b, so as to form points ofconnection, along with slot openings 118 a and 118 b, configured toreceive posts 104. The lower portion 130 further includes one or morefastener head openings 137 receiving the T-bar 151 of the fastenerassembly 150 that can be located and formed by milled slot extendingpartially in the lower portion 130 between the front portion 132 and theback portion 134. Additionally, a transverse opening 143 can be formedin the top portion 131 and front portion 133 so as to allow the freetravel of the fastener assembly 150 and angular displacement thereof toaccomplish single action locking feature of the clamp 100 to connectmultiple components in different force factors.

In this manner, the clamp assembly 110 can be assembled such that theslot openings 118 a and 118 b can be located adjacent respective slotrecesses, 138 a and 138 b, to accomplish single action locking. Bytightening the control assembly 170, which advances washer assembly 160along threaded portion 152 of the fastener assembly 150 toward T-bar151, the clamp 100 achieves different force factors where, for example,the upper portion 111 and lower portion 130 are forced in two directionssimultaneously. Milled portion 144, in cooperation with arcuate recess125 and conical portion 163, allow for angular movement of fastenerassembly 150, thereby providing a clamping force to both the side rail102 and to the posts 104, simultaneously.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fastener assembly 150 may comprise a T-bar 151with a threaded portion 152. As shown in FIG. 7C, the fastener assembly150 may alternatively comprise a T-segment 153, having an opening 154centrally disposed along the shaft 157 of the T-segment 153. A post 158,which may be threaded 159, and may further be received by opening 154.T-segment 153 may further have a longitudinal opening 155, extendingbetween side portions 156, so as to facilitate proper sterilizationand/or cleaning, in an embodiment where the clamp is used for surgicalprocedures.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7C, the washer assembly 160 comprises abody 161 having a centrally disposed opening 162 configured to receivethe fastener assembly 150, specifically the threaded portion 152 of theT-bar 151 or the threaded portion 159 of the post 158 therein. The body161 further has a surface portion 164, an interior portion 165, and aconical portion 163 configured to be received in the arcuate recess 125and allow for smooth angular displacement by the tightening of thecontrol assembly 170. In operation, tightening control assembly 170forces the upper portion 111 and the lower portion 130 toward oneanother to achieve clamping forces in multiple directions,simultaneously: first, a clamping force may be achieved in a directionthat allows upper and lower portions 111 and 130 to fixedly attach to,for example, rail 102; second, a clamping force may be achieved in adirection that allows upper and lower portions 111 and 130 to fixedlyattach to, for example, post 104. As previously described, the millportioned 144, in conjunction with arcuate recess 125 and conicalportion 163, provide for angular movement that achieves simultaneousclamping of multiple components, by allowing the threaded portion 152 orpost 158 to move in an angular manner. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6,and 7A-7C, the control assembly 170 may be a knob 171, which may furtherhave a threaded attachment to receive the threaded portion 152 of anopposite end of the T bar 151 for the threaded portion 159 of the post158 for the T-segment 153. It is to be appreciated by those of skill inthe art that any armature that provides for the tightening and looseningby the threads would be suitable to use in may offer additionaladvantages.

Relative dimensions of the components that comprise clamp 100 may varydepending on the purpose served, for example, clamping the side rail 102and clamping to the posts or pins 104. However, clamp assembly 110,fastener assembly 150, washer assembly 160, and control assembly 170 maybe dimensioned differently for another application, such as clampingobjects to the standing seam of a metal roof. In the first example,primary clamping is to be performed to operably connect the clamp bodyassembly 110 to the side rail 102 by the arms 119 and 136 being pulledtogether by the tightening of the control assembly 170 advancing on thethreaded fastener portion 152 or 159 and pressing the washer assemblyagainst the upper portion 110. Once the side rail 102 is compressed bythe arms 119, 136, e.g. in the vertical plane, advancing the knob 171 onthe threads 152, 159 moves the fastener assembly 150 in the openings ofthe channel portion 120 and key portion 140, whereby the flexibility androtatable conical portion 163 of the washer 160 in the arcuate recessallows the fastener to move along the transverse slot 143 and milledportion 144 to compress the back portion 155 of the upper portion 111towards the back portion 134 of the lower portion 130 of the clamp bodyassembly 110. This action secures the posts 104 in the openings 117 (117a, 117 b), and the portions of posts 104 that protrude from the slotopenings 118 (118 a, 118 b) are engaged by the slot recesses 138 (138 a,138 b), thereby achieving a compressing effect in the horizontal plane.Consequently, the clamp 100 balances and equalizes multiple forces byvarying the angle of advancement of the threaded portion 152 (or threads159 of post 158) relative to upper and lower body portions 111, 130,which achieves clamping in multiple directions. The directions in whichclamping is effectuated may be mutually orthogonal, wherein compressingforces act in the horizontal and vertical direction, or alternativelycompressing forces may act in non-orthogonal, but offset, directions,depending on the application. As described, angular rotation of thefastener assembly 150 relative to the upper and lower body portions 111,130 allow for these offset clamping forces to be achieved using asingle-point control, such as via control assembly 170.

While certain configurations of structures have been illustrated for thepurposes of presenting the basic structures of the present invention,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other variationsare possible which would still fall within the scope of the appendedclaims. Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broaderaspects is not limited to the specific details and representativeembodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, variousmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clamp for coupling one or more devices to astructure, the clamp comprising: an upper body including: an upper base,an upper rail arm extending outwardly from said upper base and adaptedto couple to an upper surface of the structure, one or more upper bodyfastener openings extending through said upper base, and one or moreupper body device openings extending through said upper base, each ofsaid one or more upper body device openings including a slot opening; alower body including: a lower base including a back portion, whereinsaid one or more upper body device openings and said back portion areadapted to receive the one or more devices, a lower rail arm extendingoutwardly from said lower base and adapted to couple to a lower surfaceof the structure, and one or more lower body fastener openings extendingthrough said lower base; a fastener assembly disposed in and extendingthrough each of said one or more upper and lower body fastener openings,said fastener assembly being adapted to apply a multidirectional forcein a first direction to said upper and lower bodies, whereby adecomposition of the multidirectional force is applied in a seconddirection and in a third direction such that: said second direction isapplied to move said upper and lower arms to clamp the structure, andsaid third direction is applied to move said one or more upper bodydevice openings and said back portion to clamp the one or more devices;and a control assembly adapted for operably coupling to said fastenerassembly, such that said control assembly and said fastener assembly areadapted to provide simultaneous, multidirectional clamping characterizedby said second and third directions.
 2. The clamp according to claim 1,wherein said second and third directions are oriented with respect toone another at an angle selected from the group consisting oforthogonal, acute, and obtuse.
 3. The clamp according to claim 1,wherein the one or more devices comprises one or more surgical devices.4. The clamp according to claim 1, wherein the one or more devicesis/are one or more building structures selected from the groupconsisting of a solar panel, a snow rail system, HVAC equipment andelectrical equipment.
 5. The clamp according to claim 1, wherein thestructure is a surgical support.
 6. The clamp according to claim 5,wherein said surgical support is a side rail of an operating table. 7.The clamp according to claim 1, wherein the structure is a buildingstructure.
 8. The clamp according to claim 7, wherein the buildingstructure is a standing seam of a metal roof.
 9. The clamp according toclaim 1, the clamp further comprising: a channel portion extending intosaid upper base proximate a portion of said one or more upper bodyfastener openings, and a key protrusion extending outwardly from saidback portion of said lower base proximate a portion of said one or morelower body fastener openings, wherein said channel portion and said keyprotrusion form complementary shapes such that, in an assembledconfiguration and upon tightening of said control assembly about saidfastener assembly, said channel portion and said key protrusionfacilitate the moving of said upper body toward said lower body alongsaid first direction, to provide simultaneous, multidirectional clampingcharacterized by said second and third directions.